But in the Catholic Church, we celebrate the Eucharist every day, and every Sunday is a mandatory communal celebration of the Mass. Missing one Mass on Sunday with no good reason is deemed not just a sin, but a mortal one, causing one to lose one’s state of grace, and requiring that catholic to head straight to the confessional, confess his sin, and be absolved of his error by the priest confessor, so that with his soul restored to the pristine state of grace, he can go up to the sanctuary at the next Mass, and receive the wonderful gift of Holy Communion. Otherwise, if he still receives the Eucharist without the needed absolution of the priest, he will be adding yet another mortal sin to his soul.
But I am quite certain that the majority of Catholics have either forgotten this important catechesis, or have chosen to ignore this teaching of the Church, and this is indeed a travesty. Each time I instruct the penitent about this in the confessional, I get a stunned look from the penitent, as if I am talking about some nonsense or fabrication that I made up. And one of the reasons why children of catholic parents do not make confession a regular practice in their lives is principally because they hardly see their own parents making it sedulously in their faith life.
Each time the Eucharist is celebrated, in the presence of the community is the gathering of the society of the baptized. The Eucharist is a family meal, a time of bonding, much like the family dinner table, where each member of the family sits and enjoys the meal where each person sits shoulder to shoulder and it is a reminder that where one family is absent from the table, the family is lacking in its unity.
Before making Eve from the rib of Adam, God had in inkling that it was not good for man to be alone. In the realm of nature, there is no singular aloneness in existence. Down to the smallest molecule or atom, there is a relationship in everything. Even a man or a woman is never alone. Each human being is a composite make up of so many cells and organs. Everything is meant to be in relationship, and the Eucharist is no different.
Look at the way families gather on a regular basis. Whether there is an occasion or not, whether they are in a good or a bad mood, families will come together regularly and put aside their own individual preferences or tedium. They recognize that family togetherness is about sharing, and their physical presence resets the mind to the fact that their bonding as a family is what makes like meaningful and beautiful. If that is true for family life, it is also just as true for the Eucharist.
I wonder if it is because there is little emphasis on the word “celebration” by preachers at the ambo, that this sense of the importance of the weekly gathering is hardly appreciated by the congregation. There needs to be a dynamic reinstallation of the deep meaning of celebration so that we as a congregation never lose the importance of a regular and weekly coming together in the church for the Mass.
It is my hope that every person who reads this reflection will have a fresh appreciation for every Eucharistic celebration from now on.
